Articles Posted in White Collar Crime Highlights

On April 9, 2009, Cargolux Airlines International, Nippon Cargo Airlines, and Asiana Airlines, pled guilty and agreed to pay criminal fines totaling $214 million for their role in worldwide conspiracy to fix to fix prices in the air cargo industry.
The three airlines took part in the conspiracy between 2000 and 2006. Cargolux Airlines agreed to pay $119 million; Nippon Cargo Airlines agreed to pay $45 million; and Asiana Airlines agreed to pay $50 million.

As a part of this same investigation, 15 other airlines, including British Airways Plc, Korean Airlines Ltd, Qantas Airways Limited, Japan Airlines International Co. Ltd., Martinair Holland N.V., Cathay Pacific Airways Limited, SAS Cargo Group A/S, Soci

On April 8, 2009, Stephen E. McAnulty, a former owner of an asbestos monitoring contractor that provided services to New York Presbyterian Hospital (“NYPH”), pled guilty to making false statements to agents and representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division.

According to the charge, Mr. McAnulty lied to law enforcement officials that he did not have any knowledge of anybody at NYPH receiving kickbacks in return for asbestos monitoring and asbestos removal contracts at NYPH. Mr. McAnulty, in fact, had negotiated kickbacks with a purchasing official at NYPH so that NYPH would use his company’s asbestos removal services. The kickbacks to the purchasing official amounted to $28,000.

This case arose from an ongoing antitrust investigation relating to contracts administered by Facilities Operations Department and Engineering Department at NYPH and in the Engineering Department at Mount Sinai. A couple of weeks ago, two Connecticut residents Mariusz Debowski and Krzysztof Koczon pled guilty to for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service. In April 2008, Aaron S. Weiner, of Aaron Weiner Construction Inc., pled guilty for acting as a conduit for a million dollar kickback scheme to defraud the NYPH. In 2007, two other people Michael Theodorobeakos and Michale Vignola and their respective companies Monosis Inc and Mister AC Ltd. pled guilty to conspiring to rig bids on various services provided to the NYPH.

On April 2, 2009, Durwanda Elizabeth Morgan Heinrich, a dirt, sand, and gravel subcontractor, and Kern Carver Bernard Wilson, a former contract employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers were convicted on charges of conspiring to commit bribery. Additionally, Heinrich was found guilty of two counts of offering a bribe to a public official and Wilson was found guilty of one count of demanding and agreeing to accept a bribe as a public official.

These charges were in connection to a $16 million hurricane protection project for the reconstruction of the Lake Cataouatche Levee, located south of New Orleans. The project will improve an eight mile section of the levee system.

The conspiracy allegedly took place from August to October 2006. Wilson and Raul Miranda, a previously charged former contract employee of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, steered dirt, sand, and gravel subcontracts to Heinrich’s company, while Heinrich used part of the proceeds to pay bribes to Wilson and Miranda.

On April 2, 2009, Ronald K. Johnston and James P. Robinson, two former employees of Home Depot, were sentenced to federal prison and were ordered pay restitution fees for their role in a conspiracies to commit wire and tax fraud against its former employer.
Mr. Johnston and Mr. Robinson were sentenced to serve five years and three months, which would be followed by three years of supervised release. The court ordered both to pay $1.7 million in restitution. Mr. Johnston pled guilty to the charges in January 2009 and Mr. Robinson pled guilty to the charges in July 2008.

Andre Barlow

On April 2, 2009, Krzysztof Koczon, a resident of Connecticut, pled guilty for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).

Mr. Koczon provided his co-conspirators with false documentation stating that he performed certain construction services and received more than $2.3 million in checks from his co-conspirators. The construction services provided were for the New York Presbyterian Hospital (“NYPH”). Mr. Koczon cashed all of the checks but returned most of the money to his co-conspirators for a fee. The co-conspirators then took false deductions for those payments. The conspiracy took place between 2000 and 2005.

This case arose from an ongoing antitrust investigation relating to contracts administered by Facilities Operations Department and Engineering Department at NYPH and in the Engineering Department at Mount Sinai. In March 2009, another Connecticut resident Mariusz Debowski, who was involved in the operations of three businesses in Brooklyn, NY, pled guilty to for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the IRS. In April 2008, Aaron S. Weiner, of Aaron Weiner Construction Inc., pled guilty for acting as a conduit for a million dollar kickback scheme to defraud the NYPH. In 2007, two other people Michael Theodorobeakos and Michael Vignola and their respective companies Monosis Inc and Mister AC Ltd. pled guilty to conspiring to rig bids on various services provided to the NYPH.

On March 25, 2009, Mariusz Debowski, a resident of Connecticut who was involved in the operations of three businesses in Brooklyn, NY, pled guilty to for his role in a conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”).

Mr. Debowski provided his co-conspirators with false documentation stating that he performed certain construction services and received more than $2.3 million in checks from his co-conspirators. The construction services provided were for the New York Presbyterian Hospital (“NYPH”). Mr. Debowski cashed all of the checks but returned most of the money to his co-conspirators for a fee. The co-conspirators then took false deductions for those payments. The conspiracy took place between 2000 and 2005.

This case arose from an ongoing antitrust investigation relating to contracts administered by Facilities Operations Department and Engineering Department at NYPH and in the Engineering Department at Mount Sinai. In April 2008, Aaron S. Weiner, of Aaron Weiner Construction Inc., pled guilty for acting as a conduit for a million dollar kickback scheme to defraud the NYPH. In 2007, two other people Michael Theodorobeakos and Michale Vignola and their respective companies Monosis Inc and Mister AC Ltd. pled guilty to conspiring to rig bids on various services provided to the NYPH.

On March 19, 2009, Carolyn Blake, sister of U.S. Army officer John Cockerham, pled guilty for her participation in a money-laundering scheme and accepting more than $3 million in bribes on behalf of her brother.
Ms. Blake was to keep 10 percent of the money she collected for her brother. On June 24, 2008, John Cockerham, a U.S. Army office, and his wife, Melissa Cockerham, of San Antonio pled guilty to charges of conspiracies to commit bribery and money laundering. Mr. Cockerham admitted to his role in a complex bribery and money laundering scheme as an Army major in Kuwait. He awarded illegal contracts for services to be delivered to troops in Iraq in exchange for $9 million in bribes. Mr. Cockerham directed contractors to pay his wife, sister, and others to hide the fact that he was receiving bribes. Mrs. Cockerham admitted to accepting $1 million in bribes and storing them in various banks in Kuwait and Dubai on behalf of her husband.

Andre Barlow

On March 10, 2009, Hitachi Displays, Ltd (“Hitachi”), a subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd (a Japanese electronics manufacturer), pled guilty and agreed to pay a fine of $31 million for its role in a conspiracy to fix the prices of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display panels (“TFT-LCD”) sold to Dell Inc. (“Dell”).

TFT-LCD panels are used in computer monitors, notebooks, televisions, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. Worldwide sales in 2006 were $70 billion. Hitachi reported $1.75 billion in annual revenue for the fiscal year ending March 2008.

Dell used the TFT-LCD panels in desktop monitors and notebook computers. The conspiracy took place between April 2001 and March 2004.

On February 26, 2009, Christopher Tranchina, an employee of a company temporarily responsible for electrical utilities at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote in Manville, NJ, pled guilty to defrauding the EPA at that site.

According to the indictment, Mr. Tranchina and co-conspirators defrauded the EPA by inflating Federal Creosote invoices to the EPA and taking kickbacks approximately totaling $138,000. Mr. Tranchina received $23,000 of the kickback money along with a hot tub and HVAC system.

On December 18, 2008, Zul Tejpar, a former employee at Bennett Environmental Industries pled guilty for defrauding the EPA at Federal Creosote site and agreed to pay a criminal fine of $1 million and help in the ongoing investigation. As a part of the same investigation, on July 31, 2008, Mr. Tejpar’s former employer, BEI, pled guilty and agreed to pay $1 million criminal fine for its role in a conspiracy to defraud the EPA at designated Superfund site, Federal Creosote in Manville, NJ. On June 23, 2008, JMJ Environmental Inc., a New Jersey wastewater treatment supply company, and its executives pled guilty to defraud the EPA at two New Jersey Superfund sites, including the Federal Creosote site.